Long Beach Foodie Update: Kafe Neo Abruptly Shutters Its Doors

Kafe Neo, the much loved Greek joint in Bluff Heights, has shuttered its doors just two days after posting a notice that they would be closed until further notice. This follows the closure of At Last Cafe earlier this year, another local joint nearby that was loved by the community.

Owners and brothers Gus and Pete Sverkos took to social media to make their formal statement:

It is with a heavy heart that we are sad to announce the closing of our Kafe Neo location on 2800 e. 4th street. This was one of the most difficult decisions my brother and I have had to make and it pains us to close what was literally a dream come true.

Our most pressing concern in the short term is our employees who we consider family. We are working with them very closely to ensure this transition will be seamless for them and ensure they are not affected by this change. All our attention right now is with our employees and being there for them, now and in the future.

Our employees are amazing. Without them there would be no Kafe Neo, and we appreciate the hard work and dedication they brought every single day. Having great employees is the reason Kafe Neo was successful, we are forever indebted to them.

My brother and I have based this decision primarily on the opportunity to spend more time with our families. After seeing our parents work tirelessly for over 40 years in this very same location, we wanted to reconsider our priorities. After more than twelve years on this journey, working 7 days a week for months at a time, the challenges of maintaining the quality and service of the restaurant became taxing.

We have decided to dedicate more of our time with our young children and wives. This is the most important aspect of this decision. We look forward to watching cartoons Saturday mornings, going for breakfast on the weekends, being able to take them to school and having dinner at a regular scheduled time.

We understand this may be a disappointing time for our loyal customers, who we were proud to serve over the years. There is no better feeling than watching our customers enjoy the food we prepared and being a little part of their day. This is the reason we worked so hard. We so appreciate all of you for your loyal patronage, your support and allowing us to be a part of your lives. We will never forget the good times we had in our dining room, which we always considered our family room.

As we move forward we will always be thinking about how we can make the city, we love so much, better. We will always love Long Beach, the people, the culture and the history it has.

Thank you to our parents, Effe and Dennis Sverkos for being the reason this happened. Thank you Long Beach. Thank you neighbors. Thank you to our employees who made this dream come true.

Gus and Pete Sverkos

“Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy that it happened”

Editor’s note: Yes, the address of Kafe Neo won a recreational marijuana license months ago during the lottery—this isn’t news. But it is unclear whether the owners sold the license to another business or will be heading the business itself. The owners haven’t responded so right now it is all speculation.

They are a business, first and foremost, each with families. If they have an opportunity that makes them more money while allowing them more time to spend with their children and spouses, that should be applauded. It’s entirely legal and entirely fair.

Running a restaurant is not an easy task and I am sure it was getting to them. Looks like they may have won a different kind of lottery. Good for them. I wish them success and more family time. I can relate.

Of course they should take the opportunity to make more money- who is saying otherwise? Pot is way more lucrative than running a restaurant and everyone knew that the restaurant industry was going to be hit hard by raising the minimum wage since they work on such slim margins. Seems like everyone agrees this is a good business move.

Good for them. Spending time with your family IS the most important thing in life & for them to make the terribly hard decision to shut down a fully thriving business means it was probalbly starting to take a huge toll on their lives. Of course they will do something else, as they most likely need to have a way to provide for their families and more power to them if they figured out a way to start a new business that allows them the freedom to live, work, AND be with their loved ones. From one small business owner to another I wish them the very best!

Haha yeah right. You do NOT abruptly close a restaurant because all of the sudden you want “to spend more time with our families”. You close a restaurant the proper way if that was your reason. What sellouts! When you are “moving forward thinking how to make Long Beach better” hopefully you will come up with some better solutions than more drug dispensaries! Sell outs!!!!!!

I am not disappointed they closed, I am disappointed with Kafe Neo/Sverkos’ statement. As the above person stated, you do not abruptly close a restaurant if you wanted spend more time with your families. You have a proper restaurant closing ceremony in order to pay tribute to your parents, your staff and your loyal customers; as well as give your employees ample time to find other employment. I would have more respect if the owners stated an impromptu business opportunity arose that will provide them more time to spend with their families (let’s be realistic $$$) and apologized to their customers and employees for the abrupt closing; not all the “BS” they wrote. Sorry, their actions do not match up with their words. Anyway, good luck to them.